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Choosing Your Paint: Paint comes in a variety of
finishes ranging from flat to high gloss. The glossier the
paint, the easier it is to clean, but a flatter finish will
make your walls look richer. A good compromise is a satin or
eggshell finish. It is easy to clean with a reasonably rich
look.
The next question to ask yourself is if you want to use
latex or oil based paint. Our choice is usually latex, as
the soap and water cleanup is easy, and it dries faster than
oil paint.
Choosing Your Paint
Color: Color will be your hardest choice. Your home
store will have ideas and paint chips to bring home. The
paint chip in the store will almost never look the same in
your house due to different lighting. Bring some sample
chips home, and when you’ve narrowed it down, buy a small
amount of the paint and cover a small area of your wall with
it. The paint chips you get from the store will seldom give
you an accurate idea of the color on a whole wall. If you
have your paint premixed, you cannot return it, so be
certain it is the color you want. If you think you are sure
of the color, and when you get it home, you find it just
doesn’t work; there are a few things you can do to remedy
the situation. Go to your craft store and buy the 1 ounce
containers of latex paint they sell for crafts. If you need
to tone it down, add some cream or brown to your original
paint and mix well. You can’t return the paint, so what have
you got to lose? Just keep in mind that if you are using
multiple gallons of paint, you must add the same amount to
all the paint containers. Another solution is to buy the
one ounce craft paint and water it down. (one tablespoon to
1 cup of water) Dip a rag into the mixture and wash the
wall to tone down a too bright color. Remember it’s only
paint and you can always paint over it.
Tip: If you are
covering a dark color with a lighter color, go over the
darker color with a coat of primer to save yourself having
to apply many coats of paint.
How Much Paint Do I
Need: A gallon of paint covers 400 square feet, which
means if your walls are 8ft. tall, you can cover 50 feet of
wall space.
Painting Preparation:
Remove or cover any outlets, light fixtures, etc. Tape
around windows, doors, etc. to protect any trim. Remove all
small furniture, lamps, and pictures. Lightly wipe down your
walls to remove any loose dust or dirt. Patch any holes. Lay
tarps or plastic over the floor and any large pieces of
furniture left in the room.
Painting A Room: Start with the ceiling. First use a
small brush to paint around the edges, then use a roller
with a roller extender to finish the job. A roller extender
will save you many steps going up and down a ladder. Try to
start rolling while the paint edges are still wet for a
smoother finish. A roller will allow you to paint almost to
the edge of the wall. Roll in the direction of the shortest
side and continue to overlap the paint with each roll,
trying to overlap while the paint is still wet.
Let the ceiling dry
before you paint the walls. Using a 2” angled brush, paint a
strip along the ceiling edge of the wall and around any trim
board. Paint one wall at a time so the edging does not dry.
Repeat the same process
for a second coat if needed.
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